


The Moth and The Fern

by Solecito



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: F/F, Gay, LGBTQ Female Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2020-10-25 11:28:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20723459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solecito/pseuds/Solecito
Summary: This story does NOT contain any spoilers from the recent leaks!Ellie's life in Jackson is never a boring one. Especially when her friends are a bunch of idiots who either get her hurt or in trouble.





	1. Two Eggs and Sam

**Author's Note:**

> Something I wrote while suck indoors during a storm.

It was early in the morning as Ellie walked to Dina's house. The sun was starting to rise and it gave the sky a warm orange and blue glow. It reflected so beautifully against the thick layer of snow that blanketed the town. 

Dina's house was a small faded blue house sitting breath large like trees with their open layers of snow. She has stairs to the porch that always creek under even the lightest pressure. The old dark wood of the house stood out well against the snow. 

After four repetitive knocks, the door is opened to reveal Dina in minimal clothing, untamed hair, and a cup of tea in her hand. 

"Oh no…" Dina whined as Ellie walked inside and to the diner table. 

"What?" Ellie said taking off her beanie and stuffing it in her pocket. 

"You're overdressed." She said shutting the door with sass and a cunning smile that begged to be challenged.

"No" Ellie began, smiling like an idiot and her cheeks growing warm. "You're just underdressed." 

Dina took a sip of her tea and walked past Ellie. Looking over here shoulder she said, "Are you complaining?" 

Ellie was glad she had turned around because she knew her face was shaded red. Who would complain to see Dina this beautiful and candid so early in the morning? Dina's did have a point though, Ellie was overdressed. In a black long sleeve shirt with a navy blue hoodie above that and a thick brown coat over everything. She was wearing two pairs of sweatpants and three layers of socks. She had been out for the night, walking the perimeter and the nights get pretty cold and windy. Breakfast at her house was a norm when she had night patrols.

Dina, on the other hand, was wearing faded green shorts with a black t-shirt that was too small for her, but it looked intentional. 

Dina's house was small and never a mess. Her front door was placed between a living room on the right and a dinner table to the left. To the left of the diner table was the kitchen which was like a small hallway with a stove, sink, and cabinets lining the walls. Behind the living room and left to the kitchen was a fireplace made of bricks. Behind all of that was one large room and it's private bathroom. 

The kitchen had an opening in the wall that always for visibility to anyone behind the stove. "I only have two eggs left," Dina was cracking them over a pan. "You can have both."

"No, take one. Besides I'm not that hungry." Ellie sat down on a chair began taking off her coat and jacket. Dina always had a fire going, even during the night, making her house way to warm for Ellie's liking. 

"Oh! Did you hear about the party going tonight?" Dina said, with a plate and a cup her hands. 

She set them on the table as Ellie finished taking off her hoodie. "Thanks, and no, what's it for?" 

"It's for Jason's birthday I think." Dina said returning for her serving. "Or is it for Mike's? Shit, I don't know but it's someone's birthday." 

"Are you going?" Ellie asked, gently sipping her tea so it doesn't burn her tongue. 

"Dancing, alcohol, and loads of boys, you know I'm going." She sat down across from Ellie and handed her a fork. "Besides, Jesse's going and I'm sure he'll be taking what's her face." 

"As much as I would love to watch you mean mug that poor girl, I'm kinda tired." She could finish her egg in three bites but this is the part of the day she enjoyed most, why rush?

"First of all, why would you be watching me?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow. Noticing Ellie's cheeks taint red. 

"You're entertaining to watch with alcohol in your system." She was just starting facts but she really just liked how Dina danced, especially drunk. 

"Mmhhhmm. Second of all, why are you tired? You walk that perimeter every week and you walk way more than that on patrols." Unlike Ellie, Dina already finished her food and tea. 

"I ran for a while." She mumbled, taking the last bite of her egg. "I was thinking too much and running helped me clear my head." 

"What's on your mind this time? Joel and Esther?" She was leaning back on her chair across from Ellie, arms crossed over her chest.

"Nah, but they are getting really close. They think I don't notice but I can see the way he looks at her." She rolled up her sleeves to half her arm and could feel her back start to sweat. 

Dina knew this is how Ellie would talk about what's on her mind. Assuming minor things are what bother her, just to distract her from the real problem and to hear her opinions about the lesser things. "The food shortage?" 

"No, Joel says they've been hunting more since last week so we should be well off for another week or two." It was getting warmer and Ellie felt like ripping off her sweats that were starting to cling to the back of her knees.

"Boys?" 

Dina said it so casually and innocently, Ellie couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, right!" She continued laughing.

"Seriously, not one guy has caught your attention? There's plenty of cute boys around. There's Sam," Ellie scoffed at the name. "What's wrong with Sam?" 

"Dina, I've told you, none of the guys here interest me." Dina squinted at her and Ellie knew she wasn't going to let this go. "As for Sam, he's really, really not my type."

"Do you like anyone here?" Ellie was already taking in a deep breath to deny everything so Dina added before she could interject; "You don't have to say who it is, just tell me if you like someone here; a simple yes or no." Dina's elbows were perched on the table and she rested her head on her hands. She looked adorable. 

Ellie took her time answering. She stared at Dina who was looking at her with big curious brown eyes and a little smile that made her cheeks rise. After taking a deep breath she was already regretting what she was going to say. "Yeah, I do." 

Dina went from gasping in surprise, to squealing nonsense, and finally to a tamed 'cool' composure where she just cleared her throat. "So," she began, drawing little invisible circles on the table with her fingers. "What's his name?" 

"Oh no. You said I don't have to say who." Ellie could already tell Dina was going to try and pry it out of her until she broke. 

"What? You have to tell me! Please? I'm dying to know! I could talk you up. I mean not that you need it because you're already hot but you c'mon we could go on double dates and stuff." 

"In case you forgot, you're not dating anyone." Ellie may have been smiling but she was trying to ignore the fact that Dina said she was hot to prevent her face from turning any shade of red. "Also, I plan on taking their name to my grave, now if excuse me," Ellie stood up embarrassed she might have left a sweaty print of her but on the chair. "Your house is too hot and I need to check in with Tommy.' 

"What? No! Just strip down." Dina didn't mean anything by it, really, but Ellie's cheeks and ears turned crimson. She was putting on her hoodie and coat when she heard her words and stopped mid way. "Tell me all the details!"

"You're crazy and desperate." She was putting on her beanie and heading out the door. 

"I'll tell you one of my secrets if you tell me yours." Dina really was desperate.

"Trust me Dina, you don't want to know my secrets." Dina just looked at her confused but in a way had already given up. "I'll see you at the party." And with a smile, Ellie was out of the door.

Dina knew that if she got enough drinks in her, she would eventually tell her something. Anything was better than nothing.


	2. Fence Kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellie and Dina go to a party where they get drunk and Ellie gets a kiss...

After talking to Tommy, Ellie headed back to her own house. Joel and Esther were probably having breakfast since she woke up there every day, but refused to say they lived with each other. Honestly Ellie liked Esther but she had a tendency of trying really hard to make Ellie like her. It's probably because it's not how she likes to get to know people. Joel took a whole year before they were open to talking about each other's feelings. Esther on the other hand, was forcing a bond to happen. 

The dirt road back had been shovel out and all that it left was a narrow walkway through the center of the street. It was still early, probably around 9 and hardly anyone was out. Some shops and markets were beginning to open and the smell of cooked bread was filling the air. A few settlers were heading out on horses for their weekly patrols while others were walking to their posts on the guard towers. 

Joel and Ellie's house was a faded orange two story wooden house near the back entrance. Irregular shaped stones laddered to the front steps but we're buried under the snow. Having to waddle through the foot of snow made her socks soggy and soak both her pair of sweats. 

She kicked the snow off her boots before stepping inside. The house was warm and Ellie could hear Esther and Joel laughing and reminiscing of the times before the outbreak. There was a set of stairs leading downstairs to Ellie's room on her left, a narrow hallway straight ahead that lead to Joel's room, and to her right was an opening that leads to the living room kitchen. 

Ellie was heading down when she heard Joel call her over. "Hey kiddo, how was your patrol?" She peeked her head in and waved her greeting to Esther. 

"Like I told Tommy, there's some gaps in the wall that need to be fixed." She began making her way back to the stairs, but Joel clearly wanted to chit chat. 

"Are you hungry? Esther made eggs." 

"I already had breakfast at Dina's and I really just want to get some sleep." 

"Sure thing kid." 

Before she could get stopped again she headed down the stairs, taking off her beanie and coat. Once she reached her room she discarded her clothing under the stairs where her closet was. Once on her bed, she removed her boots, sweatpants, and laid back with arms outstretched.

* * *

At some point Ellie woke up to soft music playing in the background, Dina's heavy head on her stomach, and light absent minded strokes on her thigh. Dina was skipping through images in a comic and by the looks of it, has a stack going of all the ones she's already viewed. 

"About time you woke up." Dina said not even glancing to see if Ellie was really awake. 

"How did you know I was awake?" To Ellie's surprise, her voice was deep and raspy. She could have mistaken her voice for someone's else's. Ellie craned her head down to get a good look at her. Her hair was out of its normal bun, in long waves across Ellie's body and cascading down the rest of the bed. Ellie also realized Dina was still touching her thigh just below the hem of her boxers, with light pressure from her nails up and down a few inches.

"You breathe different when you sleep." At that, Dina rose to a sitting position and tossed the comic aside. She turned around to face her and simply stared at Ellie. She loved looking at Ellie in this state. In sincere relaxation and a stoic expression replaced by a confused and dazed one. Her appreciation was interrupted by Ellie's signature frown and groggy voice. 

"What time is?" She groaned, rolling off to the side to sit. 

"Around six I think." Ellie wasn't surprised she slept 9 hours. She had been walking in circles around the inner perimeter at night for 5 hours straight. 

It dawned on her that Dina wouldn't have said anything or even tried to wake her up. "Dina, how long have you been here?" It's become a habit of Dina's to just show up in her room even if Ellie wasn't home.

She messed with a flyaway string on the hem of Ellie's shirt. "Three hours?" After receiving a confused look from Ellie, she smiled saying, "You looked so peaceful I don't want to wake you." 

Ellie glanced around her room to see what she did with her the hours of freedom. Typical Dina had cleaned up her room. Organized closet, dirty clothes in the hamper, shoes properly aligned, and the rest of her comics in an organized stack by color. 

Ellie's bed was on the south east side of the room and to the left of her bed was her bathroom. Three pillars remain running north to south of the room where a wall was previously at. Joel tore it down after Ellie claimed both rooms when they arrived. At the end of her bed was a long dresser that Joel built her for her music and record player. The north half of her room was empty. Just a door at the center of the back wall that lead to the back yard. The best thing about living on the side of a hill, her room stayed cool in the summer and retained the heat in the winter. 

"Did you organize my music collection too?" Ellie was rubbing the sleep away from her eyes setting her feet down on the cold cement floor. 

"Yeah but only because I ran out of stuff to do in the first twenty minutes." She went back to looking through the comic books, laying on her stomach, swinging her feet in the air. 

After grabbing some fresh clothes from a clothing rack, Ellie headed to the shower. One last look at Dina Todd her she wasn't ready herself but knowing her, she would look beautiful in anything she put on tonight. 

* * *

Ellie knew this party was casual, so dressing in a green long sleeve, faded black jeans, and typical canvas shoes wasn't out of the ordinary. The minute she walked out of the bathroom however, Dina was wearing blue jeans that hugged her legs, her nicest pair of boots, and a black lace long sleeve.

"What do you think?" Asked Dina spinning around to emphasize just about everything. 

"Are you planning to get laid tonight, or…?" 

"That hot, huh?" She looked down and nodded, appreciating her sense of style. 

"Yeah." She mumbled something about Dina being a horny teenager but Dina didn't catch it. Instead Dina made sure to make a mental note that Ellie called her hot.

"Now c'mon," she said grabbing Ellie's wrist and dragging her upstairs. "I want to get there before everyone gets trashed." 

Outside, Dina was shivering and trying to speed walk to the house where the party was going to be at. Ellie was wearing her navy blue hoodie while Dina refused to borrow one of Ellie's coats because it would one: "cramp her style," two: be a burden to carry around at the party, and three: gives a reason for Jesse to give her his coat at night. 

The house was all the way in the back of town. Near the old houses that will be demolished for re purposed wood. At some point Dina just skipped to the house leaving Ellie behind because she wanted to warm up. There was still a good foot of snow that reflected the sunset right into Ellie's face. Lately she feels like all she ever sees are the sunrise and sunsets. 

Once she arrived she could hear the soft bass of some old rock music playing inside. Dina was nowhere to be seen until she was about to open the front door that she heard Dina say, "Ellie, this way." She was standing to Ellie's right bouncing on her toes trying to warm up and nudging her head to the side door that lead to the back yard. "The front door is jammed." 

"Or maybe, they're just trying to keep you out." Ellie quipped. As they were opening the side door to head inside, they were almost bombarded by some guys shoving and wrestling each other. Ellie pulled Dina to the side and the two guys fumbled back into the snow. Hollers and cheers erupted from inside. The guy who pinned the other down, stood up in victory before heading back inside. Ellie was so close to Dina she could smell the scent of clean clothes and clean hair. 

They headed inside since Dina was still shivering and Ellie really wanted to eat. There were several crowds throughout the house. The largest one was in the living room where people were already dancing or making out. After getting a good look around, most of the people were already drunk and losing theirs balance or slurring their speech. 

Ellie sidestepped Dina who was looking around for Jesse, and went straight for the food. It was mostly stale cereals, fruits, and some questionable half cooked meat. You'd think someone would have brought some jerky at least. The food only took up a small part of the table while every other counter top was filled with bottles of alcohol and homemade moonshine. 

Ellie was going to offer Dina something to drink but when she turned around to look for her, she was gone. Instead she was outside again talking to the guy who got tackled to the floor. She offered a hand and as he was rising Ellie could see why the guy was tackled. It was Jesse with his frail and lanky body. He was tall, short cropped hair, and a really shy attitude. Ellie wasn't paying attention before, but it had been Jesse's brother who'd tackled him. 

Ellie grabbed a random bottle from the table and went to sit on top of a counter top, where she could get a better view of the mess that will be tonight. The alcohol in the bottle was bitter and burned as it went down her throat leaving an uncomfortable feeling in her mouth. 

The music was constantly changing, along with the moods. More and more people kept showing up while others left. It always surprised Ellie how many teens there were at this establishment and how she hardly saw any of them. To her defense, it's hard to see and get to know people when she's only awake at night. 

Ellie ended up finishing what was in the bottle, leaving a bitter aftertaste and a numb mouth. She re-filled the bottle with water and set it aside with other untouched drinks. 

She could spot Dina talking and laughing with Jesse on the couches across the room. By the looks of it, she was already drunk; as was Jesse. Dina was so immersed in her conversation with him it made Ellie a bit jealous he was getting all her attention tonight.

  
  


With a bump on the shoulder and a hand being waved in front of her face, she was brought out of her glare."Hey, loser." 

Joanna, the town ghost. "Hey, stranger." She was dressed in dark ripped clothing, had short buzzed hair, and a handful of beautiful tattoos. Ellie admired her sometimes. Living all alone and going out of the settlement, whenever she pleases; never reporting to anyone. Then she would remember how lonely that might get. Even though she was suspicious of Joel since they arrived, she couldn't bear the thought of not having him around to call her 'kiddo'.

"So, tell me Ellie," She reached over Ellie, picking up the bother she just refilled with water. "Have you confessed your feelings to Dina yet?" 

"What are you talking about?" Ellie's voice raised a few notes involuntarily. 

"Oh please," Joanna scoffed, "If the town wasn't knee deep in their own shit, everyone would know just by the way you look at her." She struggled to open the bottle and handed it to Ellie to open it. 

Desperate to change the subject, Ellie asks, "Did you bring me back anything from your trip?" Joanna usually sneaks out and comes back with cool things like music, games, jewelry, and sometimes new clothes. 

"Yeah" she searched her jeans' pockets coming up empty handed. "but I guess I lost it somewhere." Touching her other pockets to feel for bumps.

"What was it?" Ellie asked, taking a glance at the floor. 

"Your pride." She was real proud of that one. Big smile and fingers pointing in her direction. 

"Okay," With a light smile Ellie added, "don't be a dick." 

"No but Seriously," lifting the bottle to take a sip. "Are you just going to sit around watching her have a love life with someone else?" 

"Don't drink that." Gently pulling the bottle away from her lips and replacing it with a different bottle. "Were just friends and I'm not someone she would want to date. All she ever talks about is Jesse. I honestly don't know what she sees in that noodle." 

She heard Joanna mumble a question about what was in her drink when Dina and Jesse walked to the table full of bottles; only to refill their mugs. Dina winked at Ellie before turning around and leaving again. Highly suspicious that Joanna was Ellie's secret crush. Ellie's face burned and she couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her cheeks. 

"Damn. You got it bad, Ellie." Joanna snickered.

One annoyed look from Ellie was enough to make Joanna laugh. 

At some point in the night the crowd was small enough that everyone just gathered around in the living room. Some older couples were making out by the chimney, soaking up the warmth on the floor. Some lay passed out on couches. 

"Let's play spin the bottle!" Suggested Dina. The only people who were around were the four of them and everyone had mixed feelings about playing. 

"Dina, there's only four of us, you need more people for a game like that." For a noodle, Jesse has a point. 

"Oh, I know!" Joanna was on her second bottle tonight and it was past being obvious. She whispered something in Dina's ear and judging by her reaction, she loved the idea. 

"Let's do it!" Without even hesitating, Dina stumbled towards the door grabbing Jesse's and Ellie's wrists. "You guys are in for a treat!" 

Outside under the blue glow of the moon, stood the four of them in a foot of snow. Joanna and Jesse were shivering so much their teeth clattered. Everyone's breath came out in a white cloud of smoke. Ellie had gotten used to this weather over the past months, she doesn't feel it as much. Dina was to drunk too notice the cold and seeing how Jesse wasn't going to take his coat off, Ellie took off her hoodie and practically forced it over Dina's head. Dina obliged because she knew Jesse wasn't going to share his coat either. 

"What are we d-d-doing out here?" Jesse was jumping at this point. 

Joanna took the opportunity to use the bottle in her hand as a microphone and say, "Lady and gentlemen, please prepare yourselves! The race will begin momentarily." Joanna couldn't help but mentally picture two puppies turning their head in confusion like Ellie and Jesse did.

"Okay, here's how this is going to work." Dina was dragging her foot across the snow creating a starting line, while losing her balance more than once. "Ellie and Jesse; you have to put your hands behind your back, bend over," the biggest smirk on Dina's smug face surfaced and Ellie couldn't help but snicker. "Then spin around ten times in one spot. The minute you finish your turns, you run to the other side of the yard, touch the fence, and run right back." The entire time she spoke, her arms moved in exaggerated directions. 

"What do I get when I win?" Ellie asked. 

"Glad you asked," Joanna and Dina simply exchanged looks and grinned. "But only the winner gets to know the prize." 

Jesse was still shivering but his hands were already behind his back and waiting for Ellie to do the same. 

"Ready?" Joanna prepared. Both Ellie and Jesse bowed towards the fence they need to reach, lowering their head just enough to be aligned with their waist. "Set?" 

Unable to contain her excitement, Dina yelled, "Spin!" 

Immediately Ellie and Jesse regretted this decision. They weren't spinning very fast but the world around them sure was. Around eight spins Ellie's can feel the ground start to move too and bumped Jesse out of balance. She took off running in the direction towards the fence but it kept moving around with the rest of the world. Dina and Joanna cheered for no one in particular but enjoyed how the two runners looked like idiots. 

Ellie was leaving a staggered trail behind and a few holes from when she would tip over and fall. Jesse was still having trouble getting back up to a standing position. Each time he tried, he would stagger and face plant in the snow a few feet ahead. Ellie was beginning to lose her balance again; arms and legs flailing around like some bird and staggering forward until she ran into the fence. Her face was first to hit, then her body caught up and the force alone knocked her back into the snow. 

While Dina panicked and rushed to help Ellie, while Joanna was too busy hysterically laughing on the floor. Jesse didn't even bother getting back up; he simply laid in the snow laughing along with Joanna. 

"Did I win?" Ellie asked, fully aware she was in pain but her face was too numb to actually feel it. Dina helped Ellie into a sitting position and grabbed a handful of clean snow for Ellie's busted lip. She was holding back a laugh.

"No, but if it makes you feel any better, you were in the lead." Glancing back at the fence Dina noticed some blood. "No fucking way! Ellie you left your lip print in the fence!"

_ I hit it that hard?  _ Ellie thought. "What was the prize?" The snow against her lip was behind to turn red while burning Ellie's palm. 

"You would get a kiss from one of us," her laughter began to take a hold of her while she pointed at Joanna and herself. "But it seems to me, you already got the prize from the fence." Unable to hold her laughter in, Dina joined Joanna and Jesse in uncontrollable laughter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know everyone has seen all the trailers released so far- especially the newest ones (If you haven't, what are you waiting for?) and i have so many theories but I've written and discussed it so much with my friends that i don't have one conclusive anymore...i have like 10 and none of them coincide.
> 
> On other news regarding the story, I'm going to keep it as the original story i had in mind. You may read some parts here in there that might be similar but overall, don't expect a predicted story based on the revealed trailers. (I hope that makes sense)


	3. The Deep Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellie meets new friends and clothes are lost during a game...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the perspective from third person to first person, hope you don't mind :P  
There are no spoilers in this chapter!

It was well past curfew and our group of reckless 16/15-year-olds crept through the shadows of the quiet snow-blanketed town. It was mid-December and the freezing temperature couldn't really be felt unless the wind was blowing.

Dina and Jesse would have snicker fits every time Johnna or I would roll to the next building and plaster ourselves to the wall as we had seen in several comedic spy movies. 

Each building we would pass, our moves would become more and more outrageous and quiet snickering turned into hushed laughter. From tip-toeing so exaggerated it only took two large steps to reach the other wall. Then rolling around doing poorly executed somersault and rolling on our sides or crashing into one another. Eventually doing poor cartwheels where our legs couldn't even get high off the ground to be straight. Finally, what made everyone laugh a little too loudly; Johanna and I leaped over each other's back while in a squatting position and making frog noises but only once because we couldn't keep from laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. 

We only laughed for a few seconds before a light turned on inside the building we were using to lean on, and quickly ran back into the shadows and towards our destination. 

Even though it was late at night, the moon was so full, it lit our paths well enough to not rely on flashlights or lanterns. As we walked, Dina and Jesse walked really close to one another laughing and talking while constantly trying to keep their voices low. 

Ever since the night of the party a week ago, they have been talking more and more in the brief moments I got to spend time with them. I knew they weren't dating yet because Dina kept reminding me that any day now might be the day Jesse finally asks her to be his girlfriend. 

I was walking a good distance away stepping over Dina's footprints in the snow. After placing a foot inside one of her previously made prints, an arm quickly wraps around my neck and I hear Joanna whisper in my ear, "You're odd, you know that?" Johanna stated, making a deliberate look at my feet. 

"Are you going to tell me what the surprise is now?" She had been so adamant about me coming because she had a huge surprise I just couldn't miss even though I was grounded for missing curfew and a perimeter walk the night of the party a week ago. 

She smiled but it had mischief written all over it. "Of course not. What kind of person would I be if I ruined the surprise?" 

"One that might save me from a heart attack if it's anything like your last one." A playful scowl directed at her only made her laugh, sending clouds of white vapor into the air. She removed her arm nodding her head probably because she was remembering. She had told me to sit on a tree branch after we had gone swimming and wait for a surprise. I wasn't expecting Dina to show up and start undressing out of her swimsuit and into a change of clothes. She had only gotten her shoulders out before I panicked and yelled for her to stop and in the panic, I nearly fell out of the tree. 

She had told me to sit on a tall boulder looking out some trees and accumulated water while I waited for her surprise. A minute passed and below me, a group of older teens as starting to undress and change to go swimming. Luckly for me, I wasn't seen but I had to wait until the night when they left so I wouldn't look like a pervert. 

"It's nothing like that." It would have been easier to believe her if she wasn't smiling. Catching on to the look I was giving her through my eyelashes she added, "I promise!" 

"Well as long as the surprise doesn't involve me or anyone else undressing, I'm fine with it." It was wishful thinking that my words wouldn't spark an idea in that head of hers but the glint in her eyes and mischievous smile told me otherwise. 

I was about to dismiss her ideas before they became a reality but we had reached our destination and we all just looked at Joanna waiting for the surprise while she looked around for something in the distance. 

We were standing near an open patch of land where water would pool in the summer and freeze in the winter. It was far from being a lake and close to an oversized puddle but the people of the town loved calling it a lake. Roughly the size of a small school. Trees and tall mountains make up the landscape with a few scattered houses. The full moon illuminated the night and caused the blue light to bounce beautifully off the ice cap which had solidified the entire lake. 

"I hope your plan wasn't to go swimming." A soothing female voice spoke from the shadows of a nearby tree behind us. 

Every one of us quickly turned on our heels and stepped back. In the mere seconds, it took us to turn, I had already flicked open my pocket knife holding it out before me, Dina stood her ground fist balled up ready to fight, and Jessie looked like he was ready to run away.

At the base sits two figures with playing cards in their hands. In the light of the moon, only their sneakers are visible due to the shadow of the tree. They both rise and begin walking towards the group. Stepping out of the shadows and into the moonlight, did nothing to calm our nerves.

A girl with wavy black hair cropped at her shoulders. Chiseled features like a prominent jaw and strong cheekbones that overall made her soft expressions like her eyes and smile more noticeable. We made eye contact and her eyes were so dark I almost wanted to say they were black. Just like everyone else in this damn town, she's a solid foot taller than me. From the looks of it, she was well built and just as toned as the guy standing next to her. If I didn't think I was in danger I would say she was gorgeous and I was dying to know who she was. 

She was bundled up in what looks to be two jackets and a light gray scarf. Boots and jeans covered in mud and grime. Seeing their cards, they've probably been here for a while. "Hey, loser." She addressed Joanna with a similar smirk Joanna had on earlier today. She had a raspy voice but it was surprisingly soothing. The kind that if she told a story could put anyone to a soothing slumber.

Unable to contain her joy, Joanna bounces on her toes, and when she's in reach, grabs and hugs the new girl rocking her side to side while only bending at her waist. She released her and made contact with everyone's eyes, "Guys," gesturing to the girl, "I'd like you guys to meet my sister, Kat, and our friend Archie." 

No one could keep the shock of news hidden but quickly recovered to shake her hand greeting her with 'Hey' or a 'Hi'. She looked like an older version or Joanna with longer hair and riddled with confidence no one here but Dina had. When she shook my hand, I didn't miss how she lingered or eyed me from head to toe when she didn't do that to anyone else. It made me feel shy and instead of looking at her, at the risk of looking like a fool, I glanced at her shoes and then to the other guy. 

The tall toned guy with really curly blonde hair extends a hand out, Jesse is the first to shake it. "Name's Archie." His voice was deep and was the tallest member of the group. He's bundled up in a hoodie and denim jacket. His jeans and shoes are torn and recently dirty; similar to Kat's. When it came to my turn to shake his hand, although brief, his hands were calloused and scars lined his hands and wrists. 

"We were gonna play a game, want to join?" Joanna states, surprising everyone who had no idea when they decided to play a game. 

"Which game?" Kat's smirk matched Joanna's perfectly, almost as they knew exactly what the other had planned.

With a ridiculous stance of one foot in front of the other, knees bent, and both arms stretched out in front of her making finger guns, Joanna starts to sing, "Ice, Ice, baby." Only then does Kat repeat the same stance while they both finish the tune of the song they both knew so well. 

Archie groans at the realization of the game that is about to be played while Dina squeals in excitement. 

"Since you two haven't played yet," Pointing at Jesse and me, Joanna was trying not to smirk and already I knew I wasn't going to like this game. "I'll go over the rules real quick." 

She walked to a spot where she faced everyone and glancing around listing the first rule. "Everyone starts off with the same number of clothing articles." 

_ Wait, what? _

She motioned for Archie and Kat and they removed their extra layer of warmth. "You also can't take off your shoes because your socks will give you an advantage." 

_ Removing shoes? _

Kat begins to say as they all head towards the lake, "Dropping someone whos trying to get up doesn't count either. No limitations on how creative you get to drop people but each time you fall, you have to remove a piece of clothing, no exceptions!" 

"What? I didn't agree to this!" I said, finally voicing my concerns.

Dina and Joanna giggle with excitement while the new guy and Jesse shift uncomfortably. Ellie didn't even want to begin to think about strangers seeing her shirtless or anyone else for that matter. 

They had all lined up against the edge of the ice and all set a foot out to test the weight. Since nothing cracked, they all continued with cautious steps towards the center of the lake. One glance back from Joanna made me wish I had run away the minute everyone turned their back. 

"What's wrong Ellie? Scared you'll lose?" Joanna quipped. 

"I don't feel like being a stripper tonight." Crossing my arms and slowly retreating. 

"Then don't fall." Dina imputed. 

Everyone waited either with their arms crossed or hands on their hips. Smirks plastered on everyone’s face. If she leaves now she'll never hear the end of it. 

"Don't make me blackmail you." Joanna started walking back towards me and I knew she was going to find a way to convince me. She stood a foot away before she whispered in my ear, "I bet Dina is just dying to know who you like." She stood straight and cocked an eyebrow challenging me to walk away. 

"Fine. I'll play." Saying through clenched teeth. I'd rather humiliate myself than lose my friendship with Dina over a silly little crush. 

The area they stop at is far away from the edge but still close enough that if the ice begins to crack, the can run away in time. 

Jesse and Dina were sure to keep their distance from each other now and I can't help but regret playing because if Dina falls, not only will I see her shirtless, but Jesse will too. The guy was also bound to be shirtless in front of Dina within minutes too, letting Dina's fantasies fun wild. Archie was keeping his distance from both sisters and was the furthest away from the group. I stood in the center with Joanna across from me to the right with Kat to my left. Dina and Jesse were behind my left shoulder. 

There was an unspoken agreement that the game had started and Archie starting to move secretly behind Joanna. Everyone had bent legs for balance and arms stretched out to the sides like goalies.

"I'd hate to see the other guy." Kat teases staring at my still healing busted lip and taking a small step toward me. 

"Actually she-" Joanna's words get cut off when I lunge forward telling her to 'can it' making Joanna slip and drag down Archie who was trying to sneak up on her. They fall with limbs flailing and legs trying to find a foothold. All fails and Archie lands flat on his back while Joanna on her rear. 

Erupted laughter from all of them including those on the floor. Archie and Joanna shove each other while they bicker over their failed strategies. 

Kat doesn't let the distraction keep her from her original plans and sidekicks my left leg out from underneath me sending straight to the floor on my side. My reaction time cut in half I couldn't even regain my footing. Behind me, Dina was wrestling with Jesse when she lost her footing on my arm, tripping her over and falling on her stomach knocking the air out of her. 

Kat's laugh fills the air, "Two for one!" arms raised above her her head in triumph. 

"You ass!" Dina says between coughs. Shoving my shoulder as her cheeks redden. Piercing eyes guaranteed because she fell in front of Jesse and has to remove clothing. It's not like I was a fan of it either. 

"Tripping was your own stupid fault!" Shoving the girl back down as she attempted to stand. 

Joanna and Archie's Sweaters have been taken off and wrapped around their waist. Kat joined Joanna in circling Archie who looks petrified that's it's two against one. 

As I stood thinking of getting back at Kat, Dina had shoved Jesse right onto my left side and we both went down. This time my arm grabs a hold of the closest thing which happens to be Archie's jacket. Jesse's on the floor and I'm falling with Archie who grabs a hold of Joanna's leg who's already wrestling with Kat. All four end up on the ground and Dina just stands there with a perplexed look on her face. Seeing everyone go down like a train wreck must have been a delight to see. 

"Did that just fucking happen?" Dina can't contain the joy that comes from her actions and it's only then that she realizes Dina is down to her black lace long sleeve and a mixture of nerves and excitement race through my veins.

Once everyone stands, I realized I've fallen twice and regret not wearing boots instead of my chucks. The air is harsh against my face and I wasn't looking forward to seeing how it will feel shirtless. 

Jesse removes his sweater and wraps it around his waist leaving him with a long sleeve shirt too big for this body. Kat does the same with her jacket and scarf to even the playing fields since she didn't leave the scarf behind and is left with a black long sleeve riddled with small holes. It's not until I turn and sees Archie and Joanna shirtless, both not looking at anyone and blushing like mad. Their faces were crimson as it threatens to spread past their face to their chest. Kat clears her throat and rolls her fingers signaling me a 'get on with it' roll of her finger. I slip out of my hoodie and wrap it around my waist. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Dina smirk at her achievement of getting me to blatantly embarrass myself. It's then I get an idea. 

While removing my long sleeve top, I take a few small steps forward and once it's over my head, I quickly bundle it up and throw it at Kat's face. The poor girl didn't have time to recover since she was clearly watching me undress. Her whole body desperately tries to regain footing and a quick shove from Joanna drops Kat straight into her back. Legs and arms flailing as she fell. 

All while Dina and Jesse continue to wrestle until I pushed Jesse forward making him unstable. Dina's arms being the ones he was holding on to drags her along with him when he falls. 

"If you wanted to see us shirtless Ellie, you should have just asked," Kat says from the floor, winking up at me. 

_ Man, this girl is blunt. _

Feeling the girls' eyes one sends added shivers down my spine. My sports bra covers the lack of breast but make up for it with subtle abbs. I'm quite happy to see an approving look from Dina and a blush from Kat. With all the girls being shirtless now, Archie and Jesse don't dare to look up from the most interesting ice they've ever laid eyes on. 

"Alright, you boys won't even look at us let alone touch us." Dina states. "I say, it's a death match between us girls now." 

Accepted forfeit is all that escape the two guys’ mouth's as they make their way back to the shore. 

Knowing any form of surprise physical contact from Dina makes me jump, I settle for standing across from her where she has to reach a good distance to even touch me. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Kat start taking off her long sleeve shirt and man, was that a sight. Her arms and parts of her lower torso were covered with tattoos. Some looked really faded and the details were hard to see in this light but they looked awesome none the less. I see her smirk as she knew she had caused me to stare. Having Kat on my right also instigates a topic I expected each time my sleaves came up past my elbows. 

"Ouch. You get hurt a lot, don't you?." Her eyes were glued to the burn on my arm which covered the bite mark. All while tiptoeing around me to get an angle. 

"You'd be surprised." Ellie’s careful not to turn my back completely to the other two girls. 

From my left Joanna makes a clear statement knowing it would make me act. "Hey Dina, want to know who Ellie likes?" 

My eyes are wide in horror as she looks at me with an evil smirk. "Don't you dare," I warn. 

"You told her but you won't tell me?" Dina sets out towards Ellie again. 

"I didn't tell her! She just figured it out!" I protest, taking rushed steps back towards Joanna almost losing my balance. 

"But you should know Dina, Ellie really has it hot fo-" before she could finish that sentence, I yanked her hoodie as hard as I could towards Kat. She wasn't losing her balance like I had hoped, only sliding on the ice while balancing out with outstretched arms. Before colliding with Kat, the older sister pushes her out of the way and into Dina. 

Dina rapidly moves out of the way as Joanna falls and her hands and knees, giving me an opening of grabbing Dina's wrist and pinning them behind her back. One hand holding both wrists in place while the other hand wraps a finger around her bra clasp. 

As Kat helps Joanna up laughing at Kats fall, I calmly whisper so only Dina can hear, "You have five seconds to forfeit the fight now, or I unclasp your bra, and Jesse sees your tits." Dina can only look appalled at the words that spill out of my mouth. Her jaw dropped and head snapped to one side. 

"You wouldn't dare!" Her eyes are both threatening and terrified. 

"Five." Begining to count down. "Four."

"Ellie!" She swivels her head around to see the other two guys, now dressed, sitting on some rocks watching the whole spectacle. 

"Three. Two." I continue, while Dina squirms. Even though Dina was slightly taller than me, I was much stronger. "One." All it would take was a quick pinch and the clasp would be released. It didn't help that her bra was strapless and would fall the minute she lifted her arms. 

"Alright, I quit!" Dina states. Her eyes look from Ellie's to over her shoulder and then back to Ellie's. 

"Aww, that's too bad." My smirk can't even contain the amusement at Dina’s dismissal of the game.

Dina quickly slipped in her clothing again and walked back to Jesse and Archie, pouting the whole way. Joanna starts making her way back too. 

"Where's she going?" I ask Kat who's already circling me. 

"She didn't feel like putting on a show for the boys." She made a small lunge but only to tease.

"And you are?" Doing the same to her getting a more jerky reaction from her. 

"Guys aren't exactly who I put on shows for." Kat was looking at me through her eyelashes, a smirk that made her laugh lines as prominent as ever, and a subtle bite of her lip. All things considered, she is really hot. 

Not wanting the conversation to become awkward I say, "Well, this show better be free because I'm not paying." The circling of each other increased in speed and close distance became more apparent. 

"Tell you what," she said stopping entirely. "if I drop you, you have to complete 5 dares of whatever I say."

"What do_ I _ get when I drop _ you _?" 

"_If_, and that's a big if, you manage to drop me, I'll give you a tattoo for free." 

Thinking of finally covering up my acid burn, and giving people something else to look at. "Alright, deal."

"Shake on it?"

"Yeah, right." She laughs. 

At the next attempt to startle me, Kat's foot stomps too hard and crack splinters beneath her shoe, making a sharp cracking noise that echoed throughout the dark, and the smiles leave our face. With caution, Kat begins to lift her for shifting her balance to her back foot. That's when the crack grew and spread to her other foot. She looked up and we made eye contact. Our eyes watched a state of panic because any step in any direction would make the ice crack. The longer she stayed, the longer the cracks got. 

On the sidelines, I could hear the group telling us to run back. Jumping and waving their arms back. Since we all had been moving away from each other during the game we had moved much further away from the edge and were basically in the center. 

"We need to spread the weight." I offered. We begin to crouch, "we can crawl back and hope it doesn't cra-" 

The ice gave and sunk half an inch in the water. Without knowing if Kat could swim or not, I did the only thing I knew I should do. I leaped forward and pushed Kat hard enough to get her off the breaking ice where she landed a foot or two back away from danger and started crawling away, panicked. 

The minute my foot landed in the splintered ice, whatever was keeping it intact shattered and my whole body was swallowed by the deep blue liquid in a matter of seconds. The water was ten times colder than the air above which instantly put me in a state of shock. My body froze in fear as I watched the moon through the ripples of water and I blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will not be writing anything related to the leaks (which I did see sadly ( but still really hyped for the game)). I will continue with the story I had in mind and will continue to write even after the game is released. Sorry I took so long to update, school became a priority and then a lot of things happened that add to my list of life experiences. Also, do NOT spoil anything in the comments.


	4. Jeepers Creepers!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath and a crimson face.

My eyes fluttered open as I woke up on a cot in the infirmary sometime during the day. Warm orange light filtered through the blinds of both windows in the room. The room was only furnished by the bed I laid on, a small dresser to my right, and an empty old wooden chair to my right facing the cot. The windows were on the wall behind the chair and the door was directly in front of me. 

Several layers of blankets anchored me to the cot, keeping me warm; almost hot. Moving the blankets off to one side, my clothes revealed to not be mine and way too big for my frame. An of white shirt and blue shorts draped loosely and inside out over my body.

_ What the hell happened? _

Barefoot, I touched down to feel the cold tiles beneath my feet and it suddenly, the memories came rushing back to me. The cold, fear, shock, and uncertainty I felt when the ice broke through. The rest of the night was pretty hazy, though I remember coughing up water while looking at a wooden board before I blacked out again. I woke up again but whoever the two people were who had both my arms over their shoulder, became too exhausted to carry my weight and we all fell face first in the snow where I blacked out again. I could hear some slight conversations in and out of consciousness but I couldn't make out anything to piece together a proper conversation.

With my body aching and feeling extremely sore I wobbled to the door. As I walked, I noticed my shoes were underneath the cot along with my folded clothes which were now dry. I quickly changed into them practically tearing off the oversized off white shirt and baggy blue shorts littered in holes. My shirt wasn't in the pile, however, so I had to resort to just wearing my hoodie.

My hand closed around the cold handle of the door and hesitated when I heard muffled voices directly outside. 

"What if she doesn't wake up?" Unable to decipher whose voice I had just heard, I opened the door and saw Kat and Joanna taking to each in the middle of the hallway.

"She's a lot stronger than you giver her credit for," Joanna replied to Kat's former statement with a confident smile while shaking her shoulders trying to lighten the mood.

Dina was on a chair to the left of the door anxiously tapping her fingers on the chair's armrest. Archie with Jessie sitting on chairs to the right shaking their legs uncontrollably. The lights were on in the hallway and we're bright enough to make me squint making me miss the warm light from my room.

"You're awake!" Dina startled me as she shot up from her chair and gave me a tight hug threatening to cut the air supply to my lungs. By now, everyone's eyes were on me. Eyes wide, filled with relief. 

My voice was hoarse and dry, I managed to whisper, "Where's my shirt?"

"Common," Dina laughed, while ushered me back to the cot, "you should be resting, not worried about your apparel." 

"I'll have you know, that was my warmest shirt." The grogginess of my voice wasn't adjusting like it doesn’t when I usually woke up and instead several words rose in pitches. 

She walked me back to the cot and covered me with the blankets as everyone in our little group poured into the room. Joanna and Dina sat at the foot of the cot while Kat and Archie stood, leaving the chair open for Jesse. No one said anything after that, they all just stared or shifted uncomfortably. Though the more I looked at them the more I realized they looked like they were waiting for a cue to talk about last night’s events. 

"Alright, what the hell happened?" More pitch raises. 

A beat went by before everyone started speaking at once desperately trying to tell the story with exaggerated arm movements and sound effects. 

"Okay, okay!" Dina shouted, silencing everyone instantly. "She's not going to learn anything with everyone speaking at once." They each begin to tell me how they all contributed to my rescue.

_ It was seconds before the ice would collapse and Kat would fall through. The sound of the ice cracking was so loud, Archie, Dina, Jesse, and Joanna stood breathlessly as the sound continued with each new crack. _

_ "She's gonna fall in," Arche mutters and then repeats it with a more pressing concern. Everyone started shouting at once to urge the girls to return, waving their arms frantically. "Dina, Jesse, go find some rope." When they didn't move, he added, "Go!" That shook away the shock and both ran back into the homes to look for their supplies. _

_ There were more sounds of cracking and they were beginning to spread under Kat's feet as they tried crouching down. _

_ "Com'mon we need to get Kat out of there." Archie pulled on Joanna's hoodie to get her to comply because much like the others had been, she was paralyzed with fear. _

_ They sprint around the edge of the ice towards Ellie and Kat. It didn't help that they were in the center of the lake where the ice should be the thickest. Just then the ice gave in a little and next thing they know, Ellie shoves Kat out of the way who falls on the ice before Ellie gets swallowed up. _

"Wait, wait, wait!" I rushed to stop the story to interject my own comments, "So what you're saying is, I won the game?" Everyone’s answers came all at once which only made me laugh.

“Are you kidding me?” Dina retorted, sounding bewildered. 

“Who cares!” Joanna exclaimed. 

“I froze my ass off for you,” Jesse said, sternly pointing a finger at me. 

“Dude, seriously?” Archie laughed.

“You’re joking, right?” Kat said, with a deadpan face.

"Okay,” holding my hands up in defense, “sorry I asked!" I settled more comfortably in the cot and placed my elbows on my knees to hear the rest of the story. "Please, continue."

_ Archie and Joanna had reached an area where a tree was growing right on the shore. _

_ Archie turned around and told Joanna, "When Dina and Jesse get here, have them tie whatever they found to the tree and have them find something flat or something that can float." He started making his way out to the ice. _

_ "Where are you going?" Joanna panicked for his safety too. _

_ "Kat can't swim and I think Ellie passed out." He got on the floor and crawled towards the hole. _

I interjected once more asking Kat "You can't swim?" Genuinely surprised I want the only one who hasn't learned.

"Ellie!" They yelled in unison.

"Okay, okay." Rolling my eyes because I couldn't comment. 

_ Back in the neighborhood, Dina and Jesse, who encountered several barking dogs whenever they came close to trespassing, were not having luck finding anything useful. All the rope was either inside homes or in the armory on the other side of the settlement. _

_ They were about to head to each of their homes; which weren't close by either before they came across the town's gazebo. Next to it was the hose they used to water the plants and herbs in the gardening plots. _

_ Despite being breathless, they sprinted back carrying the hose in two halves to distribute the weight. _

_ "Kat!" Archie called out, "is she swimming?" _

_ She didn't reply, however. Desperately trying to crawl away from the still cracking ice. Pieces of ice continued to make the hole bigger. At this rate, the hole would make it harder to save Ellie. _

_ "Kat! Lay down flat. Try not to move!" She didn't comply, still petrified. "Kat lay down!" shouting more aggressively. _

_ Something in her must-have registered because she lays down almost as if she was about to make snow Angels. _

_ "Is Ellie swimming?" Archie asks and Kat replies with a negative. _

_ When he got closer, he laid down flat on his stomach and continued to crawl. When he was close enough to Kat he instructed, "Crawl back to the shore and help them find something flat." _

_ Nodding vigorously, Kat headed towards the rest who were receiving instructions from Joanna and tieing a garden hose to the tree. A second later Dina ran off with Joanna leaving Jesse to secure the hose. Once finished Jesse grabs the hose and cautiously takes it over to Archie. Ellie was floating in the water face down and would likely drown if they didn't act quickly. The hole was fairly small but even then, Archie couldn't reach Ellie. _

_ "Can you swim?" Archie asks Jesse when he gets close enough. _

_ "Yeah. Ellie can't though." He was breathing heavily and looked winded. _

_ "I need you to jump in, then and tie the rope around her waist." Appearing confused Archie continues, "no offense but I don't think you could pull get up." _

_ "None taken." Jesse says through a knowing nod while removing his jacket. _

_ Dina and Joanna return with a flat piece of wood just as Kat reaches the edge. It's Dina who walks the board to Archie, eventually sliding it the last few steps to not add to the weight. _

_ Archie places the wood near the edge of the hole and stands upright. With the weight distributed, Jesse jumps in. Coming to the surface, Jesse's eyes are wide and he was already trembling. _

_ "Holy shit! I-it-it's s-so fu-f-fucking co-o-ld!" All while he flipped Ellie over and tied the rope around her jacket, over her waist and thighs. Shaking violently and thrashing to keep himself above the surface, hyperventilating and gasping Jesse managed to secure the rope allowing Archie to pull her up. When it came to pulling her out of the water, Archie was able to get her torso out before the weight of Ellie, Archie, and Jesse who was trying to pull himself up kicking desperately, made the hole expand and at the risk of everyone falling, Archie pulled out Ellie as quickly as possible and dropped her on the wood falling back himself while Jesse fell back in the water. Ellie had coughed up some water but passed out again. Dina was still watching on the ice from a distance but after Archie starting dragging Ellie, Dina took over and he returned to help Jesse get out of the water. Dina could only drag her to the edge before the ice cracked once again this time echoing through the ground and vibrating beneath their bodies. Joanna and Kat were already pulling the hose back with Jesse and Archie laying on the board. Large cracks had splintered the ice all around them, taking a single step would guarantee Archie and Jesse’s fall. Kat left Joanna to pull while she helped Dina carry Ellie’s weight to a muddy patch where they could check Ellie’s condition. _

_ Dina pressed her fingers against the side of Ellie’s throat checking for a pulse. “Good. You’re not dead.” She directed at the unconscious girl. "I would have killed you if you were." _

_ Kat had leaned her ear near Ellie’s mouth, “It’s faint, but she is breathing. Here, help me sit her up.” They pull at her arms and secure her in a sitting position. Kat removes her jacket and slips it over Ellie's head then pulls her on her feet. Being out of it made dragging her more difficult especially with the uneven snow blanketed and muddy ground. _

_ After assuring the rest of the group she was alright, they made their way towards the town’s infirmary. They walked for a few minutes before Dina tripped on snow buried roots and all three of them bit the dirt. _

_ Laughing it off and getting back up, Dina recalls, “In case you were curious, that’s how Ellie busted her lip the first time.” both grunting as they pulled Ellie back up and secured her over their shoulders once again. _

_ Kat joined in on the fits of laughter as they made their way through the sleeping town. "Oh, so this isn't the first time Ellie has fallen in the ice and had to be carried to safety?" _

_ “Actually it is. She was drunk and dizzy and we made her and Jesse race but she tripped and her face hit a fence busting her lip and leaving a print." _

I narrowed my eyes at Dina as everyone laughed either because they were hearing it for the first time or because they were remembering. 

"Moving on." Exaggerating the last word to emphasize my annoyance narrowing my eyes at Dina. 

_ Dina continued to give her a small rushed tour of settlement while they walked, passing everyone’s house and moving quickly past Ellie’s just in case Joel had sensed Ellie was hurt and woken up. _

_ The infirmary was quiet and no one was really around to attend them but Dina’s mom was sure to be in one of the back rooms. Leaving Ellie and Kat at the entrance, Dina raced back to search for her mom knowing she had the night shift and was either sleeping or reading. Luckily for Dina, the search wasn’t long and she found her reading a book in one of the offices of the building. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Dina, what are you doing here?” Her voice laced with worry and anger. “Are you okay?” _

_ Before her questions continued, Dina simply stated, “I’m fine but Ellie isn’t.” then continued to pull her out of the office. _

_ Back in the hallway, Kat was having no problem holding Ellie’s weight while she used the wall for support. Dina’s mom gasped and hurried her pace. _

_ “What happened?” Between Kat and Dina’s mom, they dragged Ellie to an unused room and set her down on a cot. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Knowing she would be grounded for leaving the house past curfew for the second time in two weeks she informed her mom about Ellie’s accident. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “You and those stupid games, Dina. I swear one day, they will get someone killed.” Her mom didn’t stop checking Ellie’s condition while she lectured her. Taking a small pause to listen to her heart and lungs before continuing. “We need to get her in some dry clothes.” _

_ Everyone else filtered in the room; all out of breath, and pale. Jesse was the last to barge in, soaked and winded. _

_ “Everyone out.” Taking some clothes from the dresser in the room and handing them to Jesse. "Change into those. There are some empty rooms in the next hall over." He left shaking like a dog. "Dina go find me some blankets.” not wanting to keep Ellie's body cold, she searched room after room gathering as many as four blankets because the rest were being used on other patients. _

_ They all waited outside after Dina's mom said they should go home and get some rest but refused and instead sat in chairs or paced through the night after Dina’s mom strictly told them to not bother her until she woke up. She didn’t lecture them because none of them could sit still long enough to hear a lecture now that their adrenaline had worn off, they were left with their racing thoughts until the morning when Ellie opened the door. _

There was a knock at the door. Dina’s mom, Adalyn, peaked her head in with a sweet smile on her face. I knew her well enough that behind that smile, sometimes hides an angry scowl. Her hair is a lighter brown and was much curlier than Dina’s and with the weight, the curls reached her shoulders. She had fair skin and looked so much younger than she actually was. She shared similar features as Dina like eyes and lips but her nose is less bridged but still plump. Tired eyes met mine and she walked in. 

“Mornin’ kids.” Dina’s mom said closing the door behind her. After everyone’s greetings, she walked over next to me and asked, “How’re you feelin’? Any pain or discomfort?” She took some medical instruments out of her pocket while I replied with a negative. While she ran her small tests I couldn’t help but notice everyone’s eyes on me. Dina being perceptive as she was, distracted me by making subtle goofy faces setting my mind at ease and focusing my attention on her. Her smile alone could ease my mind.

Adalyn read the thermometer and addressed me, “Everything seems fine, but you do have a fever. I highly recommend you rest for a few days. That means no patrols, scavenges, work, parties, sports, and hell, no more games.” She addressed everyone and sternly asked, “What the hell were you guys thinking? Goin’ out there in the middle of the night to play _ games _? I doubt anyone knew where you were and if the ice had broken while you were all out there who would have saved you? Huh?” she was catching her breath but continued after a beat. “There could have been extensive damage that no one here could have fixed.” Her hands touched her forehead as she struggled to comprehend our actions. “Do you have any idea how much worse it could have been?”

“Heart attack,” Kat started listing possible complications while holding my gaze, “hyperthermia, cold shock, you could have drowned, you could have damage to the heart, lungs, brain, or be in a coma.” She looked stoic and silence filled the air. 

“Well, yes. All of that could have happened.” Dina’s mom had her hands in her pockets and looked taken back. “I’m sorry, who are you? I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.” 

“Hi, I’m Kat. This is Archie.” They shook hands before she continued, “We just arrived last night.”

“Oh, right Tommy mentioned newcomers. How did you know so much about-”

“I read a lot of medical books. I find them fascinating and well, useful.” I was getting a better look at Kat now that there was proper light. Her eyes were light brown with specks of green mixed in. Her skin was caramel and her hair was dark brown. The most fascinating thing I saw was a small dimple that formed on her cheek when she smiled. 

"We could always use more medics. If you're interested, swing by sometime and we can arrange for you to start learning the ropes." 

"I might take you up on that, thank you." 

"What about you Archie, what's your specialty?" 

"Saving the lives of reckless idiots." He directed his comment at me while everyone snickered. I got a better look at Archie now too. His eyes were dark brown and his hair was a really light brown, like rust. His curls were sticking out in every direction stopping at his ears which directed my view to the small patches of facial hair growing in on his jaw and chin.

"Thanks, smartass." At my last word, my voice squeaked and everyone snickered, even Adalyn. "Shut up, I'm sick." Not surprising that my voice ranged in pitches again and everyone laughed harder. Crossing my arms in defeat, "Whatever."

"Alright, we'll let you get some rest." Joanna lightly smacked my leg and began heading out with Archie, Jesse, and Kat. 

"Hey wait," I'm not good with words but I was dammed if I didn't try. "I know it was probably stressful and not pleasant. I know that's not how you wanted to spend your first night here, but it means a lot that you guys went through all that trouble to save me." Thinking of what to say next and realizing that I would just be babbling I added, "I'm trying to say thanks."

A series of "don't mention it," "sure, no problem," and "you're welcome" were said before they all left. 

Dina's mom moved at the foot of the cot and placed her hands on her hips. "Dina," which Dina hummed to let her know she was listening. "Take Ellie home and then meet me at the house." Adalyn didn't even try to suppress her anger anymore. She lowered her voice a few octaves, slowed her speech just a little, and clenched her teeth. "If you take longer than 20 minutes, I will personally go and find you, grab you by the ears, and drag you home. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am." With wide eyes similar to the ones I would get when I saw infected, Dina stood and began removing the blankets that were keeping me warm and started tugging at my arm to get me to stand.

We hurried out of the infirmary not daring to look back as I felt Dina's mom's eyes bore into the back of our skulls. “You know,” I began saying after we were out of the infirmary, “some looks can kill.” my voice was adjusting and was keeping a steady low groggy sound.   
  
“Oh, you haven’t seen her at her worst.” sweeping some flyaway hairs away from her forehead because the cold wind blew them around. 

“Was that not her worst?” I hardly saw Dina's mom because she was always working and it was even rarer to see her angry. Even when she did get upset, it was never as serious as the death stare we just received.

“Not even close." She stopped walking to tell me, "A year before you showed up here, she told me to babysit my little brother while she worked and I completely forgot. I left him alone at the house while I went to the lake and he managed to burn a huge part of the kitchen!” As I laughed we continued our walk back. “And trust me the look she gave me and my bother could have probably killed Joel.”   
  
“Wait,” This time I stopped walking and grabbed her arm to halt her progress. “I’ve been to your house, there are no fire marks.”

“There’s this magic trick that works wonders on damaged buildings.” The look on her face looked like she was about to reveal the worlds biggest secret I didn’t know about.

“What is it?” I could practically feel my eyes bulging out in excitement completely distracting me from the morning chill.

“Paint dumbass. Now hurry up.” She laughed as she walked backwards towards my house.  
  
My face instantly deadpanned her while I mumbled, "You're such a dick." Which she only replied with a wink.

On our race home, we kept off the main streets and went through the less crowded ones where fewer homes had been inhabited and my house was located in. As much as people needed Joel and constantly came to him with favors or help, he insisted he liked the house I had chosen when we arrived and didn’t want to move.

We reached my house and even though I didn't know if Joel had left for his patrol yet, I took the back door that leads to my room. Upon closing it though it made the squeak it had always made and alerted anyone in the house. 

"Ellie? That you?" Joel's deep voice was heard directly above up where his room was at, followed by heavy footsteps. 

Dropped my head on Dina's shoulder. "Save me." 

"Nope. I don't want to hear any more lectures than I need to." Lifted my head and she gave me a kiss on the cheek before quickly walking out saying her goodbye. 

Just as Dina closed the door behind her, Joel raced down the steps watching his feet as he descended. He started saying something about being missing when he woke up and something about noise complaints late at night by some neighbors caused by people in the lake. None of it registered in my head however because Dina's kiss still lingered on my cheek and I could still feel her chapped lips and warmth that came with it. It made my stomach knot and my heart race. Had I turned my head-.

“Ellie, I’m talking to you.” Joel interrupted my thoughts standing directly in front of me a few feet away with arms crossed. He was dressed in his brown jacket with a dark gray cotton sweatshirt beneath that. His jeans and boots were a faded black that matched his hair. 

“Sorry, what?” 

“Where have you been all morning?” He started to really pay attention to the details of my current state. Joel started to think out loud pointing at me while he talked. “Showin’ up early in the morning and lookin’ looking exhausted.” He looked away before facing me with an angry look. “Ellie, were you with a boy?”

“What? No! Jeez, Joel.” I walked to my bed plopping down on the edge. “I was hanging out with Dina.” Telling the truth at this point feels better than to have Joel assume I pulled a one night stand. 

"You know maybe I wasn't clear enough when I said you were grounded. I have to leave for a patrol but when I get back we’re goin’ to have a serious talk about your behavior.” he walked over to the shelf that had my comics and old records. “In the meantime, no comics, no music,” picking up each item and stacking it in his arms. All could do was watch; speechless. “No leaving the house under _ any _ circumstances.” I tried interjecting but he cut me off. “Even if the house is on fire!” I watched wide-eyed fearing how serious he was being. “Most importantly, no friends. To ensure that you don't break the rules again, Esther will be staying here keeping you fed and making sure you act up again."

"What if I want fresh air?" I argued, surely he had to have some compassion. 

"Too bad.” I huffed at his argument. “You lost the privilege of opening any door or window that leads out until I get back."

I stood and even though it made me dizzy, protesting while I said, "This is so unfair!" My voice cracked and actually hurt my throat. I could feel the heat of the fever, and the aching of my muscles but stood my ground.

His voice became low and he stepped closer. "When you learn that your actions don't just affect you but everyone else around you, then I'll start treating you more fairly.” That shut me up. It felt like a slap in the face because he was right. My recklessness endangered or took the life of the people I cared about most. And while they had only really affected me so far, I didn’t want to be responsible for another incident.

He took a step back before continuing. “You go around playing these games, skipping scheduled shifts, and acting up without thinking of the consequences, and somehow, it always leads to someone getting hurt. You may be behind safe walls Ellie, but that doesn't mean that the danger stops." He released a disappointed sign and looked at the clock on my wall. "I have to go.” heading for the stairs before stopping with one foot on the first step. “You know, you kept asking me to take you on patrols and I was actually planning on taking you out on my next patrol so you can learn to do them on your own one day but you need to show me you want it and right now, all I'm getting is that you would rather stay within the walls and live the life of a child.” I had my head down but lifted it meeting his gaze before he asked, “Is that what you want?" 

I had always been on high alert outside the walls and since we got here, even though it took me a while to ensure its safety, I had been enjoying the life I could have if there wasn't an outbreak. Playing games and drinking late at night was not something I could have ever imagined doing outside Jackson's walls. Even if it had its enjoyable moments, it wasn’t something I wanted to continue doing. "No.” finally answering. 

"Behave this week and I might consider scheduling you to come with me next time." Only then did he bound up the stairs with my music and comics. 

Moments after he left, the rage I had felt was gone and replaced with disappointment. I made my way over grabbing some clean clothes from my dresser and headed into my bathroom to shower. I knew breaking the rules and disobeying anyone wasn’t the correct thing to do and I knew Joel would get upset. I didn’t think he would be disappointed. I could handle it when he gets mad, but it feels different when he’s disappointed. 

Living in Jackson made me feel like my actions didn’t affect anyone anymore. It wasn’t like living in a military school where one strike leads to serious consequences. It usually meant no dinners and extra laps around the courtyard. Lately having fun with the group was enjoyable until I got hurt; much like in the mall with Riley. 

Most of the week was spent either cleaning and organizing my room or sleeping. Esther only ever came down when she was bringing food or medicine that Adalyn dropped by for my fever. Joel hadn’t taken my walkman that I had stashed in my backpack and when I would get really bored, I would sketch some ideas in an old journal I found in the room when we moved in, while I listen to the same songs on a loop. At first, my ideas were silly and I ended up sketching several shapes that resembled horses or similar drawings to the characters in my comic books. At some point, I drew a whole giraffe and it just ended up looking inappropriate and settled for just drawing the head which wasn’t any better. Eventually, at the four days mark, the drawings weren’t getting any better and in frustration scribbled the pen vigorously across the page, and to my surprise, it actually looked like something. There were circular swirls inside other circular shapes while several lines crossed it. If I looked hard enough it almost looked like a butterfly or moth.   
  
If this was something permanent it has to be something memorable, at least to me. With that said I started searching my journals for an old fern leaf, I saved in the spring earlier this year. There weren’t many to go through and after carefully flipping the pages, I found a single dried leaf or ‘blade’ as Joana put it. Once a rich dark green, now a light green and curled edges. The most important part was the underside of the blade. Several small round and semi crushed brown balls attached to each individual leaf that steamed out from the center. Apparently, they’re called spores and the sheer number of spores under the leaf was uncanny.

I went back to my journal and sketched for hours combining the moth and fern different ways and while I removed one or the other entirely, I always returned to draw them together because I felt there couldn’t be one without the other. Around midnight my hand grew tired and I stopped drawing altogether ripping out my favorite sketches to hand over to Kat, who hopefully was a much better artist than I was, and saving the giraffe as a gift for Dina to prove isolation can drive people mad. 

After clearing out the pages and journals and arranging them back I headed up the stairs, trying my hardest not to wake Esther who had fallen asleep on the couch while watching TV. I managed to quietly get a glass of water and sat on the counter while I finished my drink. The night was quiet and the only source of light was the slowly dying fire between the kitchen and living room. I watched the lonely streets through the window when I started to think how awful it would be if infected ever made it past the walls of the settlement. An image of a clicker flickered in my head while I was drinking water and gasped in the air at the sudden appearance of Dina’s face popping in my view with a wide smile showing all her teeth. I started choking on the liquid while she quietly laughed outside. My aggressive and repetitive coughs woke up Esther and she shot up from the couch looking alarmed as I had been to see Dina. 

“Ellie, are you okay?” She sounded groggy and was rubbing the sleep from her eyes.   
  
“Choked on water I’m fine.” I managed to say between coughs and ran downstairs. Saying my goodnight as I ran down the stairs to the back door. 

Dina was bouncing from the cold or excitement I couldn’t tell but the minute I opened the door, breaking one of Joel’s rules, she didn’t wait for my protest and practically ran to sit on my bed. Once seated, she slapped the spot in front of her as an invitation to join her.   
  
“If I get caught with a friend over while I’m grounded,” I whispered while I made my way over. “I won’t be able to go on the next patrol with Joel.” Taking a seat and mirroring her position of legs crossed and elbows on the knees. 

“Then let’s not get caught.” A devilish smile was all I got even after I sighed in defiance. “Want to play a game?” 

“No.” Sternly telling her which actually surprised her. “I’m done playing games. I always get hurt or put others in danger.” 

“Relax, it's just a card game.” She pulled out a deck of cards and held it between her fingers saying sarcastically, “Or, do you think the cards will get us killed.” She smirked until I narrowed my eyes and complied.

“Fine,” I snatched the cards and took them out of the casing to shuffle them. “Just because I can’t see how I could get hurt with these.” 

“You’ve missed a lot being stuck in here, you know.” She watched my hands as I bent the cards in a bridge to overlap them with one another.

“Like what?” Surprised shes managed to sneak out even though she was probably grounded too.

“Well, first of all, Jesse doesn’t hang with me anymore because he wants to ‘get strong and build up endurance.'” she did a poor imitation of Jesse's voice before rolling her eyes. "Spends every waking moment training with Archie."

“About time, he’s-”

She cut me off slapping my left arm with her right hand repeatedly while remembering too enthusiastically, “Oh yeah, and Archie-!” before she finished her sentence, I dropped the cards and lunged forward with such speed I surprised even myself. I dropped her back on the bed with both my hands over her mouth and my body pinning her down. Our faces were inches apart while she looked at me with wide-eyes and her whole face went crimson. A beat went by before we heard Esther’s steps head for the top of the stairs knowing she might come down to check on me.

“Ellie?” Esther’s voice traveled down sounding tired and half awake. “Who are you talking to?

“Uhhh, myself?” Beneath me, Dina’s body shook as she stifled a laugh. “If she comes down here,” I warned Dina quietly, “I’ll kill you with the cards.” It only made her giggle harder and to our luck, Esther mumbled her goodnight and shuffled her way back to Joel’s room.

I let out a sigh and uncovered her mouth, rolling off to the side as I laid down on her right with arms propped beneath my head. “You were saying?” She was still dazed and colored so after nudging her with my elbow, she regained focus and sat down with her legs crossed facing me and my headboard. 

“Right so, I’ve been hanging out late at night with the group including Kat and Archie and there’s something off with that guy.” squinting as if she was thoroughly thinking about it.

“What do you mean?” Our voices didn’t get louder than whispers fo the rest of the night. 

“I didn’t notice anything the night of the accident other than his leg was constantly shaking but I thought it was because he was anxious like we all were that night and brushed it off.” I hummed letting her know I was listening. “Then two nights ago, we were just hanging out at their house and he kept looking _ everywhere _ like someone was watching him.”

I thought about it for a few beats before dropping my arms and propping myself on my elbows and suggesting, “Maybe he doesn’t trust the town is safe yet.” 

“Maybe, but that’s not all. He was really rude and aggressive towards everyone.” I cocked an eyebrow to get a better explanation. “I asked him how he met Kat and Joanna, and he got defensive saying it was none of my business, and I understood that it’s not my business, I was just curious. Then Jesse asked him what he was drinking and the guy said ‘don’t worry about it’, practically shouting.”

“Maybe he doesn’t like strangers asking him questions.” It’s fair to say he might not trust us and if he hadn’t saved my life, I may not have trusted him either. 

“I thought so too, but then Kat tripped over his chair bumping it _slightly_,” pinching her fingers together to show just how much distance the chair was nudged. “and the guy went all ape shit; flipping his chair over and cursed out Kat before he stormed off.”

“Weird.” I sat up entirely before asking, “What did Kat or Joanna do?”  
  
“Another weird thing. They played it off as nothing happened and changed the subject to the most interesting books they’ve found over the years” she finished waving off her last memory. “which are just medical books and a book series they can't manage to find.” We both thought in silence for a while before Dina’s attention went past the cards she was staring at to the pile of drawings on my bed. “What are these?” Picking up the pile and going through the pages overlooking all of them.

“That’s the only way I’ve kept sane this whole time.” She smiled before I continued, “Back when it was just Kat and I playing on the ice, we made a bet and since I won, I get a free tattoo.” 

“Not going to lie,” she laughed, “but, these look horrible.” 

My voice was monotone as I said, “Aww, so sweet to me.” she dropped her jaw as if to say, you're joking’ and flashed the drawing at me. “I’m hoping Kat is a better artist.” She was nearing the end of the pile where I had her gift. 

She was viewing the drawings silently before she discovered the last drawing of the giraffe and began to laugh but instantly covered it with her hand. It wasn’t enough and she grabbed a pillow and muffled the minute of uncontrollable laughter. When composed, she looked at the drawing and couldn’t help but start laughing again. Eventually, she asked, “Ellie, how did you manage to draw such an innocent animal so inappropriately?” 

“It wasn’t intentional, I swear.” growing red in embarrassment I gathered up the cards I dropped and began reshuffling them. 

“Well, I’m keeping this and hanging it on my fridge.”

“Yeah, you do that.” I’ll blame it on her little brother if anyone asks questions.

She folded up the drawing and tucked it in her back pocket before reaching back to grab the other drawings. “So why the moth and Fern?”

“Well...I’ll tell you but you can’t laugh.”

“I won’t.” Promising with big brown eyes rooted with trust.

“Alright,” deep breath. “In the spring, these ferns release these balls of spores which is like spreading their seeds, I think. Anyway, infected release spores to spread to new hosts so…” I trailed off and she nodded, understanding. “As for the moth, I feel like animals with wings can fly away from the whole infection. Even a moth who might carry it on its body, can still fly away and get away from it all.”

As promised, she didn’t laugh. “Why a moth, and not an eagle or elegant bird?”

“Elegant isn’t a word I would use to describe myself and an eagle feels too powerful and large.” I extended my arms and jiggled my scrawny yet toned arms. To my amusement, she laughed practically agreeing. “A moth is fairly small and I’ve seen them around Wyoming a few times.” 

The ones that look like they have eyes on their wings?” 

“Yeah, exactly!” I silently high fived her before I remembered my train of thought. “Ever since I got here, it’s kind of like I’ve flown away from the madness to a safe home where the infection cant reach me.” Really though, even if I flew to the moon, the infection would follow me there too, clinging to my body. 

“That’s really beautiful Ellie.” She didn’t make eye contact, she simply stared at the drawings with a new meaning attached to them.

“Kind of scared to go through with it though.” 

“Why?” She looked really confused, maybe because I don’t usually admit when I’m scared and this was the first shes heard me say it.

“What if I don’t like it?” For all I know, Kat could be a horrible artist and I could have imagined the tattoos on her body are way better than they actually were in the dark. She could leave a drawing as ugly as my giraffe and I would be forced to wear long sleeves throughout the summer again just to hide the monstrosity.

She shrugged, stared at the drawings again before meeting my gaze to say, “What if you love it?”

I returned her smile because she could have a point and it would look better than I ever imagined. Throughout the night, she continued to look at the drawings and imputed some other thoughts into it while adding some sketches of her own; helping bounce ideas back and forth. Every chance I got, I would stare at her when she wasn’t looking and just smile because she knew me well enough to know that this was important and not some joke. She knew how to ease my nerves when others didn’t, and I couldn’t ask for a better friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like chapters keep getting longer...sorry lol Also, This was finished a week after the last one but took me forever to edit because of finals.


End file.
